of Acrobat Pro DC [3, 5]. Within minutes of the installation, there it was—the familiar, utilitarian window of Distiller, ready to process his queue [1, 3]. He successfully converted his backlog, the prints came out crisp, and he met his deadline.

If you do not require the complex pre-press features of Distiller (such as specific trapping settings or PDF/X validation), there are excellent free alternatives that replicate 90% of user needs.

It relies on a free PostScript-to-PDF driver (like Ghostscript) to seamlessly convert files directly from the print menu.

For most everyday PDF creation needs, the free alternatives like PDFCreator, PDF24 Creator, or doPDF are more than sufficient and will serve you well without costing a penny. Choose the professional power of Distiller for high-end print production, or opt for a free alternative for reliable, everyday PDF creation.

To understand why you might want Distiller, let’s clarify its role.